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NUS’ MyISIS Portal May Change Its Name

With its student online information platform having an acronym similar to that of the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be looking into whether a name-change is needed.

Last month, Dunman High School changed the name of its Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) to Dunman High Information System (DHIS).

MyISIS is where NUS students pay their school fees, check examination seating plans and schedules, besides using it for other administrative functions. “The university will conduct a review to determine if a change in the name of the NUS student platform is necessary,” said an NUS spokesperson in an email response to TODAY’s queries.

Most NUS students TODAY spoke to said there was no need for a revision, as it is far-fetched for anyone to draw links between the university and the militant group.

“I don’t think it is necessary because I would think students know better than that,” said sociology undergraduate Nurul Syuhaidah Senin, 21. “But I feel that it would just give people peace of mind.”

Dentistry undergraduate Chloe Sim, 21, added: “If (tomorrow) a new terrorist group with NUS as its acronym pops up, are we supposed to change the name of our school, too? It’s just bad luck that it coincides, but there’s no need to be drastic.”

However, financial engineering postgraduate Kim Vu, 27, felt a name change would be appropriate as those who have suffered from the group’s terrorist acts could find the similarity offensive.

“The name doesn’t affect me, but it may offend other people. So the change can be good,” he said. “It will not hurt anyone, anyway.”

In an email sent to Dunman High students on June 18 and that has since been circulated online, the school said it was changing the name of its student information system to DHIS because the system “shares the same acronym as the terrorist group in Syria”.

When contacted by TODAY, the school declined to comment.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 9, 2015
Deaf-Mute Teen Who Stole Bus For Joyride Sentenced To Probation

He stole a private bus from an industrial park and took it for a joyride, but the 17-year-old teenager who is deaf and mute will be given a second chance.

Muhammad Salahuddin Omar was convicted of three charges: theft of a motor vehicle, driving below the age of 18 and driving without insurance.

The Community Court sentenced him to 24 months’ probation with a number of conditions, such as staying indoors from 10pm to 5.30am and serving 130 community service hours. He also cannot drive or apply for a driving licence during the probation period.

Delivering the sentence today (July 8), District Judge Mathew Joseph said it is important to determine the “underlying root cause” so that Salahuddin does not reoffend in future.

He noted that Salahuddin has had hearing impairment since birth and has lost his hearing aids several times. “(Due to the) lack of hearing aids….(Salahuddin has been) trapped in (his) prison from birth,” said the judge.

Salahuddin’s father, who was present during the hearing, told the court that he can only communicate with his son 20 per cent of the time using sign language. To communicate better with Salahuddin, the judge said his father has to “improve at a higher level” of learning sign language.

The judge also noted that Salahuddin has a fascination with buses and wants to further his studies in the Institute of Technical Education College Central after completing his N-levels this year.

According to court documents, an employee of the AZ Bus company discovered that a bus — valued at about S$200,000 — was missing from Woodlands Industrial Park E8 on March 8.

Mr Toh Hoe Kok, who was the operations executive at that time, tracked the location of the bus through a Global Positioning System linked to his handphone.

Mr Toh discovered the bus to be along Kian Teck Road and asked one of his employees to follow the bus. His employee managed to catch sight of it but told Mr Toh that the driver did not stop when approached.

Mr Toh continued to monitor the location of the bus using his handphone, and saw it moving along the Ayer Rajah Expressway, Jurong Town Hall Road, Boon Lay Way and Jurong Pier Road. He then got into his own vehicle to go after the bus and spotted it while he was reaching Bukit Batok Avenue 6. He stopped the bus by driving and stopping in front of it.

Investigations revealed that about a year ago, Salahuddin’s father had noticed that his son was interested in public transportation and would attend public transportation-related exhibitions with his elder brother. He would also play computer games related to buses.

He had stolen the vehicle for fun, by pressing the emergency exit button to board the bus, and found the bus key next to the driver’s seat. He drove around for about 45 minutes before reaching the Bukit Batok Central area where he was stopped by Mr Toh.

A probation officer who took the stand during the hearing recommended Salahuddin be engaged in activities catered to the deaf community. She also recommended his parents to attending programmes such as basic sign language courses.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong asked the court to disallow Salahuddin to drive and apply for a driving license for all classes of vehicles during the probation period.

She pointed out that Salahuddin has shown “brazen disregard for the law” when he committed the offences, but noted that no one was hurt.

Salahuddin’s parents, who were present in court declined to speak to the media, after the hearing.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 9, 2015
Indonesian Student Arrested For Sending Bomb Threats To SIA

JAKARTA — Jakarta Police today (July 8) said they had arrested a 21-year-old male student from a private university in Banten who had sent a bomb threat to Singapore Airlines, causing flight delays.

Ilham, a senior college student reportedly majoring in information technology, was apprehended yesterday at his home in the Baleria housing complex in Tangerang, Banten after sending an email containing a bomb threat to Singapore Airlines on July 1.

“Because of the terror, there were three flights (from Singapore’s Changi International Airport), delayed for a while,” said Brigadier General Victor Edison Simanjuntak, chief of Jakarta Police’s economic crime unit, today.

According to Brig Gen Victor, Singaporean authorities tracked the source of the email and contacted the Indonesian police force.

The information technology and cybercrime unit of the National Police conducted an investigation that led to Ilham’s arrest.

“We are still investigating his motives,” Brig Gen Victor said.

The police intend to charge Ilham with article 335 of the criminal code and article 45 of the 2008 Law on Information and Electronic Transactions. The student faces a maximum ten years’ imprisonment.

When contacted, Singapore Airlines told TODAY: “As the matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, we are unable to provide further details.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 9, 2015
Uber To Look Into Reports Of Inflated Fares Following SMRT Disruptions

Third-party taxi service-provider Uber will be looking into reports of inflated fares experienced by their customers, following a 3.5-hour disruption that crippled the North-South and East-West train lines on Tuesday (Jul 7).

Some who had used the company’s app to book drivers had expressed frustration at having to pay fares that were higher than usual. Uber said that fares had gone up due to its “surge” or dynamic pricing mechanism.

This causes fares to increase when there is high demand from passengers and low supply of cabs. It aims to incentivise drivers to ply the roads and take up bookings during such periods. The company added that once demand and supply are in balance, fare prices will come back down.

The MRT breakdown on Tuesday had prompted more commuters to book cabs. Some of those who used the Uber app were shocked to discover they had to pay higher fares. One person said she paid around S$124, which is five times her usual fare.

The company said it suspended the mechanism an hour after the full extent of the MRT breakdown was known. Still, it highlighted that users will see a notification on the app whenever there is “surge” pricing, and they will also be required to make multiple confirmations before they submit their request for a driver.

Mr Karun Arya, Uber Communications Lead for South Asia and India, said: “As soon as we found out the extent of the disruption and the number of people who were stranded, we did turn off the dynamic pricing mechanism. But moving forward, if such situation does rise, our team will assess it accordingly and take the necessary action.”

RALLYING TOGETHER DURING THE DISRUPTION

While some profited from the 3.5-hour disruption, others rallied to help others. Marketing executive Kerrin Kua, 27, was making her way home with her cousins and domestic helper when she realised there had been a train disruption, resulting in snaking queues at Ion Orchard’s taxi stand. Her cousin, Ainslie Kua, then had a brainwave – why not book a 13-seater van?

They managed to get a van in about 15 minutes, and proceeded to ask those waiting in line for a taxi if they would like to join in.

13-seater carpooled with 9 others! #ThingsIDidWhenMRTWasDown pic.twitter.com/fE6fa6kwOP

— Kerrin Kua (@kuakerrin) July 7, 2015

In total, Ms Kua told Channel NewsAsia nine others chipped in, and were dropped off at five different locations.

“We were really excited, and I have always wanted to car pool,” said Ms Kua, who said some of the strangers she met were really chatty.

Separately, Mr Tong Yee, director of social enterprise The Thought Collective, posted an offer on Facebook to give lifts to those who may have needed a ride home. His post garnered more than 500 likes.

anybody need a ride from anywhere?I am home and willing to help anybody who might need a ride home.just drop a…

Posted by Tong Yee on Tuesday, 7 July 2015

“Like the fairy godmother to Cinderella he actually appeared at Toa Payoh offering to drive me and a few other desperate strangers at the taxi stand all the way to Woodlands,” a passenger wrote.

Mr Tong’s initiative also prompted others to offer free rides in the comments.

Another commuter who found herself stuck outside Somerset MRT station decided to make the most of the situation. Relating her experience on Facebook, Ms Tong Sian Choo said after meeting a woman who lived from her neighbourhood, she whipped out pieces of tissue paper and wrote “Hello! We need a ride to Yishun”, in hopes of hitching a ride.

Just reached home half an hour ago at 12.30am. Am beginning to take in all that had happened for the past 3.5 hours on…

Posted by Tong Sian Choo on Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Her post has since been shared nearly 2,000 times, and while Ms Tong did not manage to get a lift, she found her way up a crowded bus to travel home.

“As I looked around, there were migrant workers, families and individuals who were trying to make it back home. We started smiling at one another, somehow knowing that everything is gonna be okay. Just tahan this together,” she wrote.

“All in all, so so so glad to see Singaporeans stepping up to care for one another, through their actions. Believe we are so much more than this breakdown,” Ms Tong added.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

July 9, 2015
ST Correspondent: Government Should Help Beef Up SMRT Resources To Fix Problems

In an opinion piece in the Straits Times on Thursday, 09 July, the newspaper’s Senior Transport Correspondent, Christopher Tan, says “apologies from the operator, regulator or the Government” over Tuesday’s island-wide MRT shut-down “are beginning to sound glib and hollow.”

However, Mr Tan also suggested that “the Government should step in to help beef up resources required for SMRT to make things right quickly.”

In Parliament in February, the Government revealed that in total, S$40 billion would have been spent on the PTOs over the next 10 years, that is S$4b a year. (See here: “Parliament: Government spends $4b a year on transport infrastructure and subsidies“.)

Do you think it is prudent for the Government to pour in even more resources into SMRT, resources which ultimately will have to come from commuters and taxpayers?

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

July 9, 2015